James Strong

James Strong was an American biblical scholar of the nineteenth century, working within Protestant scholarship with a lasting interest in making Scripture searchable and teachable.

He is best known for Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance, paired with its numbering system, which has shaped how generations of pastors and students locate words, trace usage, and connect English translations to underlying Hebrew and Greek terms.

Strong remains valued because his work supports careful attention to the text, while still requiring wisdom and context so that word study serves exegesis rather than replacing it. Recommended titles include The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance, and Strong’s Hebrew and Greek dictionaries as printed alongside the concordance.

Theological Perspective: Broadly Evangelical

James Strong

James Strong was an American biblical scholar of the nineteenth century, working within Protestant scholarship with a lasting interest in making Scripture searchable and teachable.

He is best known for Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance, paired with its numbering system, which has shaped how generations of pastors and students locate words, trace usage, and connect English translations to underlying Hebrew and Greek terms.

Strong remains valued because his work supports careful attention to the text, while still requiring wisdom and context so that word study serves exegesis rather than replacing it. Recommended titles include The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance, and Strong’s Hebrew and Greek dictionaries as printed alongside the concordance.

Theological Perspective: Broadly Evangelical

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The New Strong’s Expanded Exhaustive Concordance Of The Bible

Mid-levelBusy pastorsStrong recommendation
8.2
Author: James Strong
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Theological Perspective: Reformed
Resource Type: Concordance

Summary

We are dealing with an expanded edition in the Strong tradition, offering exhaustive listings with additional features aimed at making consultation easier and, in places, more informative for modern users.

For pastors, the core benefit remains the same. It helps us locate occurrences, verify references, and trace patterns. The expanded elements are meant to support clarity and speed, especially for those who use the concordance regularly.

Even so, we must remember what the tool is. It is an index. It takes us to Scripture, but it cannot take Scripture’s place. Our doctrine and application must be shaped by the passage itself.

Why Should We Own This Resource?

We should own it if we want exhaustive coverage in a familiar Strong framework and we value extra helps that support navigation. For weekly preaching rhythms, being able to check usage quickly is a genuine aid.

The strength is comprehensive reach combined with a more user oriented presentation. That helps us do careful work without losing time, particularly in the early stages of preparation when we are gathering texts and confirming patterns.

The limitation is the same temptation as always, we may treat word links as meaning. If we are not careful, we can build arguments from glosses rather than from context. Used wisely, it becomes a tool for honesty, pushing us to read more widely and speak more accurately.

Closing Recommendation

We can commend this as a strong, exhaustive reference tool for pastors and teachers who value a familiar system and want a fuller presentation. It is well suited to steady, repeated use.

We should keep our method disciplined, letting concordance work serve reading and exegesis, not replace it. When we do that, it will strengthen both preparation and proclamation.

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The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible

Mid-levelBusy pastorsStrong recommendation
8.2
Author: James Strong
Theological Perspective: Reformed
Resource Type: Concordance

Summary

We are looking at a classic exhaustive concordance in the Strong tradition, built to help us locate every occurrence of words across the Bible and to connect English terms with underlying Hebrew and Greek through a numbering system.

Its enduring usefulness is simple, it makes the Bible searchable for those without formal language training. That can serve pastors well when we are checking usage, tracing repeated vocabulary, or verifying whether a phrase appears elsewhere as we remember it.

At the same time, an exhaustive concordance can be misused. Word study becomes dangerous when it detaches words from sentences. This tool helps us find places to read, but it cannot tell us what those places mean.

Why Should We Own This Resource?

We should own it if we want a proven indexing system that supports careful checking and wide reading. It can help us avoid lazy citation and strengthen the accuracy of our references, which matters in public ministry.

The strength is comprehensive reach. When we are preparing a sermon and need to confirm a detail, trace a pattern, or find the other occurrences of a key term, it gives us a dependable route into the text.

The limitation is methodological. The numbering system can tempt us to treat dictionaries as authority and to build theology from isolated word glosses. We will need to discipline ourselves to do our interpretation in context, letting the passage, the paragraph, and the book govern what a word contributes.

Closing Recommendation

We can recommend this as a standard reference tool for pastors and students who want an exhaustive index and a familiar word study pathway. Used with restraint, it helps our preaching stay accurate and text tethered.

We should pair it with a good Bible dictionary and careful commentaries, and we should keep our main attention on the flow of the passage. When we do that, this becomes a steady assistant rather than a shortcut.

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